The Technomancer

FAQ

Q: What is the Intel Core i5-14400F's position relative to other CPUs in the database?

A: The processor sits at the 83rd percentile among all tested CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 32,279 places it within 0.2% of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (32,233) and Intel Core i9-11900 (32,226), while it trails the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (32,354) by 0.2% and leads the Intel Core i7-12800H (32,121) by 0.5%.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390's average benchmark score of 1,482 is 1.3% above the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1,463), 1.5% above the GeForce 800M (1,460), 2.5% above the GT 625 OEM (1,446), and 2.7% above the GT 710 (1,443). This places it in the 9th percentile among all GPUs tested.

Q: What resolutions and settings does the database show as playable for The Technomancer with this combo?

A: The recorded data shows only 1920x1080 with Low and Medium presets clears the 60 FPS threshold. At 1080p Medium, the average is 61 FPS with a minimum of 52 and maximum of 70. Low averages 79 FPS. No settings at 2560x1440 or 3840x2160 reach 60 FPS.

Q: What is the best playable preset at 1080p according to the measurements?

A: Medium is the highest quality preset that stays at or above 60 FPS. It delivers 61 FPS average, making it the recommended setting for smooth gameplay. High at 1080p drops to 52 FPS average, which falls below the playable threshold.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested hardware combinations for this game?

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the Intel Arc B390 ranks 3,285 out of 3,696 tested combos. This places it in the lower 11% of systems evaluated, which aligns with the GPU's low percentile position.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU bottleneck performance more in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The Arc B390 sits at the 9th percentile among GPUs, while the CPU is at the 83rd percentile. Frame rates at 1080p High (52 FPS) and 1440p High (34 FPS) show steep drops when raising resolution, which points to GPU-bound rendering rather than CPU limitations.

How This Combo Ranks

The database places this configuration at rank 3,285 out of 3,696 tested combos for The Technomancer. That puts it in the bottom 11% of all systems evaluated, a position driven almost entirely by the graphics solution. The processor is a strong performer, but the integrated-class Arc B390 holds the system back.

To contextualize the rank: the 14400F alone outperforms roughly 83% of all CPUs in the database. Its multi-threaded scores are substantial, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core result of 21,645 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 11,268. Yet the GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,482 is only marginally ahead of legacy mobile parts like the GeForce GT 520MX and desktop low-end cards like the GT 710. In a game like The Technomancer, which was released in 2016 and relies on traditional rasterization, the GPU's modest throughput becomes the decisive factor.

The rank of 3,285 out of 3,696 means that nearly 89% of tested combos deliver better frame rates in this title. Systems with similarly ranked CPUs but faster discrete GPUs would land much higher. Conversely, the CPU's high percentile ensures that any upgrade to a stronger GPU would likely yield dramatic improvements, since the processor has ample headroom.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals a clear division of labor. At 1920x1080, the CPU's strength is visible: Low preset hits 79 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium drops to 61 FPS, and High falls to 52 FPS. The falloff from Low to Medium is 22.8%, and from Medium to High it is another 14.8%. This pattern suggests that as settings increase, the GPU's workload grows faster than the CPU's, shifting the bottleneck.

At 2560x1440, the GPU's limitations become more pronounced. Low averages 52 FPS, Medium 40 FPS, High 34 FPS, and Ultra 26 FPS. The gap between 1080p Low (79 FPS) and 1440p Low (52 FPS) is a 34.2% reduction, which is larger than what a purely CPU-bound scenario would show. The CPU's single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3,055) is more than sufficient for this game's logic; the rendering pipeline is what chokes.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is severely overtaxed. Low averages 28 FPS, Medium 22 FPS, High 19 FPS, and Ultra 15 FPS. The scaling from 1440p Low to 4K Low represents a 46.2% drop, while 1080p Low to 4K Low is a 64.6% drop. These numbers indicate that resolution scaling is the dominant variable, which is a hallmark of GPU-bound performance. The CPU's role is essentially static across resolutions; it is the GPU that determines playability.

Preset scaling reinforces this. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium costs 18 FPS (22.8%), and Medium to High costs another 9 FPS (14.8%). At 1440p, Low to Medium costs 12 FPS (23.1%), and Medium to High costs 6 FPS (15%). At 4K, Low to Medium costs 6 FPS (21.4%), and Medium to High costs 3 FPS (13.6%). The consistent percentage drops across resolutions show that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are the limiting resources, while the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads remain underutilized.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals in the database are all within a half-percent of the 14400F's average score. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U scores 32,233 (0.1% lower), the Intel Core i9-11900 scores 32,226 (0.2% lower), the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS scores 32,354 (0.2% higher), and the Intel Core i7-12800H scores 32,121 (0.5% lower). Any of these processors would behave nearly identically in The Technomancer, meaning the CPU would not be the differentiator in frame rates. If a system paired one of these CPUs with a similar GPU, the results would fall within the same range.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are all legacy or low-end parts. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1,463 (1.3% lower), the GeForce 800M scores 1,460 (1.5% lower), the GT 625 OEM scores 1,446 (2.5% lower), and the GT 710 scores 1,443 (2.7% lower). The Arc B390 leads this group, but the margins are tiny. In practical terms, a system with a GT 710 or GT 625 OEM would produce frame rates only a few points below the Arc B390 in The Technomancer. Conversely, the gap to any modern discrete GPU is enormous, so the alternatives listed here represent the closest available hardware, not an upgrade path.

The implication for the combo is that the CPU is overqualified relative to the GPU. Swapping the 14400F for a Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U would change nothing measurable in this game. Swapping the Arc B390 for a GT 710 would drop performance slightly, but not dramatically. The real gains would come from moving to a GPU with a higher percentile rank, but that is outside the scope of the nearest rivals.

Best Settings per Resolution

The database's playable threshold is 60 FPS. At each resolution, the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS average is the recommended choice.

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS. The highest average is Low at 28 FPS, followed by Medium at 22 FPS, High at 19 FPS, and Ultra at 15 FPS. All fall far short of the threshold, so there is no playable setting at 4K.

At 2560x1440, the results are similarly below the threshold. Low averages 52 FPS, Medium 40 FPS, High 34 FPS, and Ultra 26 FPS. Even the lowest preset misses 60 FPS by 8 frames, making 1440p unplayable by the database's standard.

At 1920x1080, two presets clear 60 FPS. Low averages 79 FPS, and Medium averages 61 FPS with a minimum of 52 and a maximum of 70. High drops to 52 FPS, and Ultra falls to 40 FPS. The best playable setting is Medium, as it is the highest quality preset that stays at or above 60 FPS. The data records a minimum of 52 FPS, which means occasional dips below 60 are possible, but the average holds.

For users who prioritize smoothness over quality, Low offers a comfortable margin at 79 FPS. For those who want the best visuals while remaining technically playable, Medium is the ceiling.

The Verdict

Can this PC run The Technomancer? The answer depends on the resolution and preset. The verdict by resolution is unambiguous.

At 3840x2160, the system cannot run the game at any playable setting. The best average is 28 FPS on Low, which is less than half of the 60 FPS threshold. Medium and High fare worse at 22 and 19 FPS, respectively, and Ultra bottoms out at 15 FPS. The Arc B390's limited pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s are insufficient for 4K rendering in this title.

At 2560x1440, the verdict is also negative. Low averages 52 FPS, which is close but still 8 frames short of the target. Medium (40 FPS), High (34 FPS), and Ultra (26 FPS) all fall further behind. The GPU's shared memory system, which relies on system RAM rather than dedicated VRAM, appears to struggle with the higher pixel counts.

At 1920x1080, the system passes. Low and Medium both deliver averages above 60 FPS, with Medium being the best playable preset at 61 FPS. High (52 FPS) and Ultra (40 FPS) are not playable by the database's standard. The 1080p Medium result includes a minimum of 52 FPS, so there will be moments of stutter, but the average clears the bar.

The overall picture is that this combo is a 1080p machine for The Technomancer, and only at lower-to-mid presets. The CPU is not the issue; its 83rd percentile ranking and strong multi-thread scores (Cinebench R23 multi-core of 21,645) ensure that it can feed the GPU adequately. The GPU, ranked in the 9th percentile, is the bottleneck. Users who own this configuration should run the game at 1080p with Medium settings for the best balance of visual quality and frame rate. Those who want higher resolutions or Ultra presets would need a more capable graphics solution.